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Might be something as simple a science. Harmonics produced with even numbers of frames might cause the extractor to shake apart. Odd numbers of frames might disrupt harmonics thereby stabilizing the extractor. Conjecture but based on product design experience of distributive forces around radial...

March, April and May had pesistent rain (nearly consistently 200% above average over the whole three months) and June although dry was cold (circa 1.5°C below average). Wasps find it hard to hunting in the rain or to pulp wood. Preferrentially ground dwelling Germanica struggles with saturated...

Hmmm! There are four principal factors influencing was populations when it comes to vespine wasps in temperate climates. Mild winters wreak havoc on wasp populations. Persistent wet inclement Springs and early Summers delay wasp nest building and if the delay results in failed mating events...

I know three people who have died from wasp stings. One a nineteen year old from my daughter's school and two pest controllers. Honey bees obviously are a hazard but still don't compare with wasps primarily because conditions for serendipity aren't as high and their venom is not as...

Not sure I follow? What kind of other stinging forager do you mean? Out of interest, what do you imagine to be the reality?

Definitely true of hives but not something that happens with wasp nests. There's a more cogent reason why I dislike pesticide treatment of wasp nests and that is the fact that pesticides used during the day will kill the sentries that give access rights to returning foragers so foragers don't...

There's no waving of any hoover 😁. Granted it'll be harder seeing as how it's the third floor. I use extension poles that I picked up second hand on ebay. The vacuum nozzle is simply set at the entrance where the wasps go in. As they try to enter they get sucked up. Leave the vacuum running...

I've no wish to undermine the moderators who have recently closed a thread but I do think there are a couple of salient points that need to be made. Wasps are without exception the most deadly insects in the UK and need to be treated with respect for the health risk they represent. That being...

Which trimester?

Does that translate the same in French? 🤔🤣

Just their mobile phones would be enough. I recently delivered a series of integrated wasp management training seminars at a premier UK theme park. Got a lot of stick for recommending how bins should be managed as being unrealistic given the wanton level of vandalism experienced from school...

Spooky! I literally just posted to that effect. Hornets are better able to withstand rain being a bigger insect. The lack of competition from wasps will see an explosion in Crabro numbers.

I disturbed a wasp nest in a pile of rubble in early June. The nest was at least 4 to 6 weeks behind in development. Sadly I couldn't save the nest but it is symptomatic of the persistent wet weather we've been having. Wasps find it hard to hunt when it's this wet plus Germanica which is...

By and large they don't, that's true. The architecture of the stinger is quite fascinating and is made up of three linear elements, namely the stylet and two lancets. When hymenopterans sting the lancets alternately slide up and down the stylet in a sawing action and venom is pumped along the...

Not sure that's entirely true. Honey bees have barbed stings and it takes many honey bees to kill one hornet unless they ball the hornet. Wasps on the other hand have serrated stingers which allow for multiple stings without risk to the wasp. It takes far fewer wasps to kill a hornet. Honey...

Why so? The video clip I linked to earlier shows how wasps destroy hornets hawking at the nest. Velutina and Crabro have different hunting styles because they occupy different niches. Crabro as an apex predator lags in development behind wasps. What this means is that it can capitalise on...

Seen many wasps this year?

Hence my comment about deer populations. However, I'm reasonably confident that deer populations don't swing by as much as 80% from one year to the next which wasp populations do most notably in response to failed mating events followed by warm winters.

What's interesting is that there's an inverse correlation between ticks and wasp populations. Sometime ago I researched the incidence of Lyme's disease using NHS stats and compared this with field monitoring of wasp populations and there was a strong correlation between the two. In years where...

They say a picture paints a million words. This video should persuade everyone of the value of protecting native vespines: You'll notice just how few wasps are actually taken by the hornets and just how many hornets are killed by wasps. bear in mind these are giant asian hornets so more...